


Gladnis Week Day 2

by Moon_Raccoon_exe



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Day 2, Drama Queen Ignis, Gladio's a hopelessly romantic that will take care of a drunken Ignis, Gladnis Week 2017, M/M, Mentions of drugs, Warning: Attempt of Sexual Assault mentioned, drunk Ignis
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-05
Updated: 2018-01-09
Packaged: 2019-02-11 01:26:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 17,442
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12924354
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moon_Raccoon_exe/pseuds/Moon_Raccoon_exe
Summary: Gladio tries to get some sleep after a terribly wrecking day, but the phone shakes him awake. He considers not answering the constant messages and calls, until he realizes the desperate caller is his best friend and crush.He starts checking through the messages, and the latest one has Gladio jumping out of bed and into the streets to look for his friend, hoping it's not too late.'Gladio, it was not the plan.I believe somebody adulterated my drinks.'





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> For Gladnis Week 2017, Day 2  
> Prompt: OMG, so drunk...
> 
> There's no explicit non-con; the second half focuses on how Gladio deals with a very drunk Ignis. 
> 
> \---
> 
> I tried to and failed to come up with any title.

Usually, by that time of the night Gladiolus would already be asleep. 

Even more that day, he had so many more reasons to put himself in bed and ignore the rest of the world until the following morning. Despite what others could think of him, he did not enjoy staying up until too late. He was a grown man, mature enough to difference when it was fine to party and stay up late, and when he needed to follow his schedules as they were set, even the non-official and personal ones. He had to wake up as early as usual for his morning run before work and diverse lessons at the Citadel, that night was not to party or stay up late even if he wanted. Which he did not; that day he had had a particularly rough and extra heavy training with the Marshal and finished wrecking himself training the prince, who, for his bad luck for once, had been particularly energetic. And that meeting that lasted an hour past the work shift, plus all the after duties…

Gladio was wrecked and, gods, there was nothing he wanted more than his bed as soon as he left the Citadel. It was his father’s turn to keep the night watch nearby the king’s chambers, so he had to take the oh so boring duty of driving back home as tired as he was. Sincerely, all that he had wanted was to go straight to his bed. He did stop to say hello to Iris and help her a bit with her homework. As exhausted, he still thought it rude to deny dinner when the house butler had already prepared it. Even just the action of chewing was TIRING and Gladio only wanted a comfy mattress with warm and cozy blankets and his bunch of pillows and not see anyone else until the next morning, which he planned to do when he reached his room and collapsed in bed.

He had gotten a few hours of sleep…that were interrupted by his phone.  
He had set it on silence because he did not want anybody to interrupt his sleep, but the thing could still buzz. It kept buzzing and buzzing, at first entirely ignored and the sound drowned under Gladio’s own snoring, but it buzzed for so long it shut the man up, and eventually woke him up.  
The young Shield groaned out of complete exasperation, long and low, and turned to see the hour in the digital clock. One in the morning. Absolutely fucking _fantastic_.  
He groaned louder, gripping at his own hair. What kind of stupid, fucking _asshole_ was phoning him at this hour _precisely_ that night!?  
Acknowledging it could be related to his duties in some way, Gladio felt forced to not ignore the damn phone, which had buzzed once in a message as he woke up. Frowning and snorting like an angered beast, Gladio reached for his phone, only able to open one eye while the other was strongly shut, and he looked at the screen.

Fifteen missed calls, and five messages.  
All from Ignis. 

Gladio softened out of seeing it was a close friend and not some random idiot Glaive or attendant. But, more than anything, the anger was entirely replaced with concern; it was not new to see Ignis was awake at such an hour (did the man ever sleep at all?), but…the quantity of missed calls and messages. From Ignis. Ignis “I don’t want to be a bother to anyone” Scientia, spamming him. It was something rather new. Still, he assumed that had it been something particularly dangerous or if Ignis was majorly injured, he would have activated his Alert signal instead of phoning him. 

Ignis messaging and looking for him at one in the morning. Curious and a bit worried, Gladio opened the messages.  
**11:30 am** _Gladiolus? Apologies, are you awake?_  
**12:08 am** _I don't mean to sound needy, but if you could pick up the phone..._  
**12:39 am** _Gladio?_  
**12:45 am** _I believe you must be asleep by now, I had hoped you had taken a bit before going to bed. If you are awake and just ignoring for whatever reason, please do pick up the phone. It's important._  
**1:02 am** _I don't know who else I could contact. I don't mean to be a bother, please, please, tell me you're awake._

Gladio squinted the eyes and sat up, a bit more worried by now. It did not sound particularly urgent, but this was coming from Ignis. Considering who had written this, it _did_ sound rather worrying.  
_Hey, Iggy. 'M sorry for taking so long, are you okay?_  
It did not take even a minute. Which Gladio was not sure if was more or less worrying.  
_\- Until now, yes. Thank Shiva you answered._  
_\- Hey, Igs, it's fine. What's the matter?_  
_\- Gladio, oh gods, I'm so drunk._

…well, that…that was very new. Not that Ignis never got drunk, he had his moments every now and then when he was among people he trusted intimately, Gladio himself included. Ignis had also gotten drunk when Gladio was not present, that was not new. But for Ignis to start phoning and messaging him just for that, it was a bit odd. He never drank if there was not a designed driver, nor alone, so he should have no reasons to phone him.  
_\- lol_  
_\- So watcha want me to do?_  
_\- Gladio, it was not the plan._  
_\- It's not the normal kind of drunk._  
_\- I believe somebody adulterated my drunks._

Gladio needed no other message.  
He basically propelled himself out of his bed, leaving his safe haven of pillows and blankets, and searched in the dark for his shoes, clumsily but successfully putting them on. He grabbed his green jacket and put it on as he walked out of his room and down the hallway, straight to the stairs. By the time he reached the living room area he heard noises from upstairs, and Jared appeared there, holding to the railing and staring at Gladio with sleepy and confused, altered eyes. He had asked if there was anything he needed, but Gladio gently denied him and told him he would go pick up a friend, and asked the butler to go back to bed. A bit startled, Jared obeyed and only looked above his shoulder to watch the young Amicitia exit and lock the door behind himself. 

While Gladio reached and started the car, he messaged Ignis again.  
_Okay, can you tell me where you are or is it better if you send me your location?_  
Ignis did not type anything. He sent the location map straight away. Gladio stared at it with a frown; what the hell was Ignis doing at a local bar? They had work the following day, unless Ignis had been given a free day or something. And who was he with? Had he gone alone?  
Gladio decided to leave the questions for another moment, set the phone’s map as he had no idea how to get there, and typed out a quick message while getting on the road.

_You stay where you are, Iggy, don't you dare move from that spot._  
_I don't mean to be a bother, Gladio. If you could come or send anyone, I believe that would be wise._  
_Already on my way._  
_Be careful._

Such an Ignis thing to do, even when drunk, to wish Gladiolus a safe drive while Ignis himself was in greater risk. Gladio did not even reply, and only cursed under his breath while he kept driving trying to go as fast as possible without speeding past the limits. The least he wanted was having to stop for a chat with cops when his best friend and crush was drunk, drugged against his will, and who knows with who-the-fuck doing or trying who-knows-fucking-what to or against him. What had led Ignis to that situation? The man was the smartest creature Gladiolus had ever known and the smartest in possibly centuries, it was not much his style to end up in this kind of situation. 

It was a fifteen-minute drive from his home, not as close as Gladio may have wished and it felt like an eternity. His phone had not buzzed since that last message, but he had sincerely hoped Ignis would not be the selfless creature he was that worried on not distracting Gladio at the wheel and could just send a fucking message to know he was at least in a position where he could do that. Gladio parked a bit too quickly and in one movement, which left the car as an inconvenient obstacle for others, but it was not like there were many cars at that hour outside or like he would take long. He did not plan to. 

The guard had tried to stop him, had glanced at him from head to toe maybe examining Gladio’s pajama clothing, but Gladio insisted, had brain enough to stop before he started a fight, and then explained ‘a friend was waiting for him inside’, which made the guard move aside and let him in. That, or his looks. Maybe earning that scar was working for some purpose, he could scare others and open his path through when needed.  
He entered and stopped at the entrance to get a look of all the place without letting anyone exit without him noticing. So many ladies and gentlemen, but where was he?  
Gladio thought maybe searching in the bathroom. He thought that maybe Ignis had escaped from his attacker, whether he knew them or not, by going into the bathroom to message and phone Gladio. The gods damn, the Shield kept cursing under his breath, feeling guilt eating him out; if only he had not been a lazy scumbag that preferred to sleep, if only he had answered at the first call…

He continued glancing around in his way to the bathroom but did not spot any familiar face. Putting all his hopes that Ignis _was_ in the bathroom and that he had not been forced outside, Gladio took in a subtle but deep breath and opened the door.  
His heart almost dropped when the pair of blazing green eyes found him.

“Gladio!” Ignis, down on a knee nearby a corner, had looked up when the door opened and he was looking at Gladio with what the Shield could swear was…fear. Ignis, scared. That was new, too. And absolutely heartbreaking. The man stood up and hurried towards Gladio, who hurried towards him as well but could not stop staring, and got to analyze Ignis in only a few seconds; his hair looked a bit messed, and he was entirely pale, so pale it was a bit sickening. His eyes looked rounded by black and a hint of red, as if he had bawled his eyes out except it was not the case. They reached each other and the adviser threw his arms around him, holding tight onto him like longtime friends that meet after years. Gladio hugged him back firmly, wrapping his arms around that slender but strong waist and pressing his palms flat on his back. He felt one of Ignis’ hands on his head and the other around his shoulders. He was trembling lightly. Gladio did not need to see to almost feel the way Ignis kept the eyes shut tight. “Thank the Six, I was starting to panic…”

“I am so sorry I took so long to answer the damn phone” Gladio apologized and squeezed his friend a bit tighter. “It’s fine, Iggy, let’s get you out of here” they broke apart and Gladio hurried on reaching a hand up to hold his friend’s chin gently, making him look up at him. “How are you?”  
“Astrals” Ignis sighed, “I am so drunk” he stared away and Gladio let him. “I feel terrible, I…made it worse than it was, I…” the man stopped, passing a hand through his hair and looking concerned. “…when I realized that he had put something in my drink, I…tried phoning you, but…it is not your fault, what was I thinking coming here so late and thinking you were awake?” Ignis continued digressing for a moment before he said anything important again. “I was insecure about leaving this place with him; if I was as bad already, the hit of air on my face would worsen it and I…” he shook the head and his hands went to grip at Gladio’s arms. “…I had taken the bathroom as excuse too many times and he insisted we left, so…all that I thought to not leave was…I-I told him I still wanted some drinks and I…” by that point, Ignis lowered the head and looked like he was at the edge of tears. He breathed in a choked sob and closed the eyes. “Gladio, this is my fault, I drank when I was already drunk as excuse to not leave and I kept drinking and now I’m drunk and drugged against my will and I am a terrible person and this is my fault…”

Astrals, Ignis was in a terrible drunken state. When drunk he tended to get pretty dramatic, but this was already more than Gladio was used to witness. The Shield stared at him some moments, feeling more guilt about not coming earlier, and seeing Ignis start to cry in front of him.  
“Come now, Ig, it’s not on you” Gladio comforted him and put his hands on Ignis as well, but the man continued silently crying and whispering things on how this was his own fault. “Who did this to you?”  
“…you are going to be mad at me” Ignis murmured after a small pause, hands moving to his own eyes to rub them while he shyly cried. Gladio did not need to insist. “…I-I was given the day free tomorrow, a-and…Cultro asked me to early celebrate my birthday and said ‘Why don’t we have a drink tonight?’ and I…felt…obliged and I did not want to be rude, and I just followed him and I know you’ve told me to get away of him, and I do so- but I was…I-I don’t know…” Ignis sniffled and lowered the head even more. “…he did not seem to have any bad intentions…”

As soon as he heard the name Gladio’s expression had changed. When Ignis finished talking, it all made sense and the young Shield sighed in controlled anger and looked away.  
“That son of a bitch….” He murmured, but assumed it was not the time to speak about Ignis’ stubborn and toxic suitor that the two had been pushing away. For too long by now, Gladio realized. “I’m gonna have a real good conversation with him sometime soon, and now you’re not going to stop me.”  
“I won’t” Ignis sniffled again, still refusing to look up at him. “I thought he was only stubborn. I mean, he’s a Glaive, I did not think he would dare…”  
Take advantage of Ignis’ trust, take him to a bar, adulterate his drink with the Lucii know what, drag him out of the bar somewhere else, and then…  
The mere thought gave Gladio shivers. He shook the head to get rid of it, but he still wondered how sick somebody had to be to do that sort of thing. How sick somebody had to be to care only on Ignis’ body and claim it as a prize even when his mind was lost and switched off. How sick somebody had to be that he, after realizing Ignis is no fragile princess and could beat the heck out of him in self-defense, decided to best knock him off his senses to have a huge and unfair advantage. Gladio decided he would make Cultro understand what the fucking meaning of ‘No’ was. He had harassed Ignis enough, this was far beyond the limits of what Gladio would tolerate. 

“That’s fine, Iggy” Gladio murmured to him, softly. “It’s not your fault. You trusted and were betrayed.”  
Ignis only nodded very weakly after a pause, head still lowered. Gladio felt the hundredth pinch of guilt that night and, moved, he reached close to hug Ignis again. The younger man was a bit startled but did not return the hug nor was he given time before Gladio broke apart again and wrapped an arm around the adviser’s shoulders, whispering a ‘Let’s go’ before he started guiding Ignis towards the door. Ignis was not one to lose balance while walking when drunk, so the fact that the man was going very slow and stumbling only did but worry him; not only was Ignis terribly drunk, he was also drugged. He was still pale and sweated coldly. Thank the Astrals he had not fallen unconscious or something as bad.  
Gladio helped him out of the bathroom, taking Ignis’ pace, and looked around. He had not seen the Glaive when he entered, and there was no sign of him anywhere this second time. The Shield assumed the most simple and usual; as soon as Cultro saw him nearby, he fled away like a pathetic _thing_. Gladio internally growled and remembered to remember that Cultro had also abandoned Ignis when in this terrible state just to save his own ass. 

Eventually, Gladio managed to take Ignis out of the bar. When the air hit him the adviser hesitated and stumbled, so Gladio’s first reaction was to pick him up in arms. With how poisonous the Glaive was and how much hatred he felt towards Gladio, he would not be surprised if the man appeared out of the blue and attacked him, knowing Gladio would not attack or defend himself if that put Ignis to risk in some way and taking advantage of that fact. Gladio kept Ignis half-hugged and leaned down to scoop him up from the floor. All that the adviser did was to offer a little groan of surprise and hid the face in the crook of Gladio’s neck, as if embarrassed. The Shield hurried to his dad’s car and unlocked it, putting Ignis down only for a moment to open the backdoors for him, before helping him inside and closing the door after him. 

When Gladio started the engine, he looked back at Ignis and told him he was safe now and that he should get some rest. The adviser, still looking rather terrified (though it was possibly mostly out of feeling terrible rather than scared at all), had gently denied him, and proceeded to go on a rant of how this was his fault, how inappropriate it would be to lie down in the car, about how horrible he was by ‘touching the magnificent Lord Clarus’ car with my drunken, disgusting ass’ and other matters while Gladio started the engine and drove away of the bar. He slowed down and stopped only for a moment to reach for Ignis, put a hand to his mouth, make a gesture asking for silence and gently pushed him down on the seats. Inevitably, Ignis fell asleep in less than a minute after Gladio started driving again. From time to time he glanced at the rearview mirror to stare at Ignis, see if he was less pale or had stopped sweating coldly, or just to see him. There was something incredibly sweet and reassuring about seeing him there, terribly drunk and asleep in the backseats. It was like a reminder that his friend and crush was safe and sound, peacefully asleep, and not in the Six know where with the Astrals know who. 

Gladio did not drive him to Ignis’ place or mister Scientia’s. Who knew if the man was in his house (as he used to spend most at the Citadel, as first attendant to the king), and he did not dare nor want to leave Ignis alone in such a state. So, as simple, he drove to his own house with no hesitation. The ride was quiet in many ways; despite the nocturnal life of Insomnia, there were almost no other cars driving around, almost no people in the streets, and Ignis was peacefully asleep. After the fifteen-minute drive, Gladio parked and opened the backdoor to pick Ignis outside, but he found the man had curled nearby the other door. Gladio rounded the car and opened the other door, just to find Ignis had moved to curl nearby the first.  
Turned out that Ignis was not asleep; he had woken up and _refused_ to get out of the car.

“I am a piece of unworthy garbage with no value” Ignis was explaining while Gladio tried to talk him into coming out of the car. “What sort of strategist am I? I cannot look at you to the eyes. Leave me alone.”

Despite the terrible and sad things Ignis was saying, Gladio could not help a little smile and chuckle. A drunken, extra dramatic Ignis was rare, sad, and a bit amusing to see. He behaved like a stubborn child, a sad man amplifying his problem to dramatic levels, and a bit like an adorable if a bit scared puppy. Gladio ended up trying to crawl into the backseats to drag Ignis outside, just to be received by yelped-out dramatic ‘No’s and some attempts of kicks to the face, so he changed strategy and tried opening the door Ignis was closest to, but the man kept moving from one to the other while Gladio ran around the car trying to be faster than him. In the end, and as Ignis’ mind was not clear enough to function as brilliantly as it normally did, Gladio ended up tricking him and being able to drag him out of the car. When the fight was clearly lost, Ignis stopped complaining and dropped his dead weight on Gladio for the Shield to carry him piggyback into the house. 

They were received by Jared, but Gladio again asked him to get some sleep and that he would get in charge of things. The man was not as young as he used to be and Gladio did not want to bother him like a spoiled brat. Jared still offered to arrange the guest’s room while Gladio prepared some tea for his friend, which the young Shield accepted.  
Gladio tried to have Ignis sit on the sofa and not move; Ignis tended to get as anxious as dramatic when drunk, so catching him was a good sport whenever the adviser had too many cups. He insisted on walking in circles, going places, all as he talked things usually about blaming himself for something. The Shield, exhausted but not calm until Ignis was attended, prepared him a good and healthy tea to help clean his stomach, chased Ignis when the man tried leaving the house, and put him back on the sofa. He stayed awake and sat nearby while Ignis quietly sipped from the tea, slow and making long pauses to randomly sob once as if he had been furiously crying all the time, or to stare at the tea like it was a shiny pebble that he could not understand.

It was an hour before Ignis finished his cup. Before really bringing him to the guest’s room, Gladio guided and helped Ignis into the bathroom when the man threw up. Gladio took his glasses from him so he would not accidentally drop them and kept the palm soft and flat on Ignis’ back, drawing slow and gentle circles on it while the adviser dry heaved, threw up, or just breathed heavily while holding to the toilet. That was the first time it happened to him; the drama and anxiety were normal to different levels, but Ignis had never before thrown up out of drinking.  
…which, needless to say, triggered him into another terrible drama. Ignis’ dramas were dramatic on their own because he either cried or just laid somewhere on the floor, stubborn and refusing to get up, and just murmuring awful things about himself.  
Gladio spent yet another half-an-hour sat in the bathroom with Ignis thrown on his side in a corner calling himself all sort of disgusting names in mumbles, before the Shield could just not allow this to continue, laughed softly both sad and amused, and scooped Ignis up from the floor.

The adviser comically (to Gladio, at least) tried to smack him, but started crying as soon as his hand touched Gladio’s shoulder, and he dropped his dead weight on him again. Gladio did laugh this time and only murmured a low ‘Oh, Iggy’, before bringing him to the kitchen. He offered Ignis water to clean his mouth and a few mint candies for the breath, which the adviser accepted. It was after gods-know-how-long that Ignis was done over cleaning his mouth and eating the candies that he accepted the offer of a bed. Even though the adviser was showing less troubles with walking, Gladio preferred to not take any risks and asked Ignis if it was fine if he carried him once more. Ignis offered no complaints. Indeed, he did not even answer. He just put the arms around Gladio’s neck and dropped himself as if saying ‘Whatever, not like I care anymore’. 

With yet another low laugh, Gladio picked him as he could (what with how much Ignis was enjoying on dropping dead weight on him) and made his way upstairs and through the hallways. Thankfully, Iris had not opened her door so she must have been dead asleep. Gladio took Ignis to the guest room, clean and looking comfy. The Shield did not bother on turning on the lights to not put Ignis down; he went straight to the bed and sat Ignis there. The adviser insisted on not making eye contact with him, looking terribly ashamed of himself. So terrible and so much he refused to “deserve any of your kindness” that Gladio himself had to undress him to his underwear and dress him again in some comfy and warm pajamas. Ignis only either dropped a tear or two, or mumbled about how Gladio “should drop him in the trashcan” and about how much of a “disgusting visitor” he was in the “Amicitia palace”. The last word made Gladio laugh while he was taking Ignis’ socks off and putting warm and clean ones on instead. Not like Ignis’ were dirtied, Gladio only wanted him to feel extra cozy.

Ignis either did not notice or did not care nor did it find startling that Gladio fully changed him. Once Gladio was done, he pulled down the sheets except on the spot Ignis was sat on, and waited for the adviser to lie down. Which did not happen, of course.  
“Iggy” Gladio laughed. “Just lie there, it’s very late. You have to sleep.”  
“I am unworthy, Gladio” Ignis said in a thread of a voice, still refusing to make eye contact and looking terribly sad. “I have shown to own close to no value. Why should I sleep?”  
“Iggy, that doesn’t make sense” Gladio laughed softly and lowly, sitting down at Ignis’ side. “You _have_ value. Now lie there and sleep.”  
“I don’t” Ignis closed the eyes and lowered the head. “I have been raised with only two sole purposes in life. Two. Twenty…almost twenty-one years being raised to turn into the prince’s wise adviser and the most sharp-eyed strategist of Eos” Ignis opened the eyes again and looked down at himself as if analyzing his body. “And this is how it’s worked. Tricked into a bar by a toxic suitor, drugged without noticing, and having to phone my..." he gestured at Gladio with his hands and scanned him with the eyes as if not finding the words to describe him, and getting upset because of that "...knight in shining armor so he can rescue me and carry me in arms because all that I could do when I saw the dragon was cry.”

Gladio raised the eyebrows at the ‘my knight’ part, and laughed. He felt his face become red and he stared away, still laughing, but Ignis was still serious and sad.  
“I am supposed to see people’s intentions from the very first sight I have of them. I’ve been followed by him for about a year now and…this was so obvious, yet I did not see it” Ignis lamented, teeth clenching as if angered. “And, okay, we can let that go and excuse it behind how I blindly trusted an ally. Which makes me a pathetic excuse of a strategist and adviser anyway, because you do not blindly trust anyone, not even yourself. But let’s suppose in some level of the universe it’s acceptable” Gladio smiled, amused and just stared warmly at Ignis as he continued. “But _then_ I did not notice when he put…the…whatever he put in my drink. I did not see it. It happened under my nose, it had to happen while I was looking, I basically had _my eye_ at an _inch_ from the glass, Gladio” Ignis dropped the hands and stared up with teary eyes like this was a tragedy. “And _I did not see it_. I did not see it, Gladio, do you know what that means?”

Gladio, still smiling, raised an eyebrow at him and shook the head softly.  
“That means that I am the _worst,_ most awful, most terrible, less sharp-eyed strategist that has ever breathed in this or any other universe” Ignis put his hands to his face and dropped the head again, sobbing but Gladio was not sure if he really was crying or if this was his ‘drunk-drama-crying’. “I could not see somebody altering my drink right in front of my eyes, how do you expect me to- I cannot- I have the poorest- no, the entire _opposite_ to sharp-eye, I have a…blunt eye.”

Gladio laughed quietly again. He was sure that was not the concept Ignis was looking for, but he let him be. Ignis sighed and shook the head.

“I have no value anymore, Gladio” he lamented. “I don’t deserve such a thing like sleep.”

“Ignis, control yourself” Gladio knew he should be concerned, but he could not help a little laugh. The adviser kept the head down, silent and completely down in the dumps. The Shield smiled like a mother would do to her son after he just lost an important competition. His voice. “Hey. Iggy. Come on, look at me” but the adviser refused to do so, quietly. Whenever Gladio tried to grab him, Ignis weakly got rid of his grasp and kept the head down. “Come now, Iggy.”  
“I do not deserve to be called the prince’s adviser, or royal strategist” Ignis murmured, a hand moving up so he cleaned his own nose. “I don’t deserve this treatment. I don’t deserve to be in a bed in the Amicitia palace. This holds…too much honor, and I am a poor excuse of a strategist…” he sighed. “…and I’m drunk.”  
Gladio smiled a bit amused that drunken-Ignis still thought this was a palace, but he made no comment about that. 

“Hey, Iggy, don’t say that stuff” he said softly, moving so he was sitting closer to his friend. “You _are_ a wonderful strategist, and the best adviser Noctis could have ever wished for” he saw the strategist move the eyes in his direction for a moment. “Even the greatest and the smartest make a mistake from time to time. And what do you make out of mistakes?”  
“…I quit my job?”  
“You _learn_ , you sack of chips!” Gladio said with a tiny warm laugh. He brought his legs up to the bed so he was sitting on it leg-crossed like Ignis, in front of him. “This doesn’t take any value from you; on the opposite, learning from it will give you even _more_ ” by that point Gladio was almost murmuring. He waited a moment and then saw Ignis’ eyes moving up, head staying down, to make eye contact. He smiled at the poor drunken adviser. “Don’t be so dramatic, Iggy. It’s okay. You’re wonderful and you know it.”

There was a long pause after that. Ignis lowered the eyes again, and after another pause he nodded. He moved a hand up again to rub at one of his eyes as if to stop it from crying before he even started.  
“…you are so good to me, Gladiolus” Ignis murmured. “… _too_ good. Even if I’m not too bad, I don’t know if I deserve this treatment from you” Gladio’s smile grew smaller and his eyebrows furrowed again; he thought he had already controlled this, but Ignis found a new thing to be sad about. The Shield listened to him in silence. “You woke up in the middle of the night just to answer my call, do what this weakling could not, go all the way across the entire city, took me out of there and you let me sleep in your car, and then you gave me tea and a warm blanket, and then you took my glasses so I wouldn’t drop them when I…” he paused to breathe shakily. “And then you gave me an entire room with my own bed, and I’m just… _so touched_ , Gladio, you just saved my ass. Probably very literally” by that point Ignis cleaned his other eye. The comment had been serious, but Gladio did not comment on it, and Ignis did not seem to see the real weight of it. “You did not have enough with only saving me out of there, you…you’re doing all this for me, you’re pampering me, this is not necessary, I-I could- I only needed to be taken out, not all this wonderful, marvelous pampering, I should-”

While Ignis started speaking about how he should leave, Gladio hurried a series of quick ‘No’s, and softly reached close to pull Ignis back on the bed and not let him stand up. The young Shield grinned a little amused again, but the gaze remained warm. While he was saying it was fine, Ignis teared up again.  
“…see, you’re even taking time to convince this…unworthy sack of chips” Gladio could not help a little laugh at that, “to stay because you still want to give me more of this treatment. It’s like…I don’t know, midnight and you’re awake just to…” Ignis stopped there and looked up at Gladio with big eyes at the time he dramatically gasped and put both hands to his mouth. Gladio blinked at him, tiredly but still attentive. “…Gladio. Gladio…Astrals…Gladio” the young Shield smiled at the multiple calls of his name, but said nothing. “…Gladio, you…you _do_ have work tomorrow…”  
“Iggy, don’t mind that” Gladio said while shaking his head softly. As Ignis opened the mouth to complain, he continued to not let him. “Really. Listen, it’s nothing. If I’m awake it’s because I want to.”

Ignis still took a long while just staring at him with wide eyes and the hands close to his mouth. It seemed like the comment only made him tear up even more.  
“I don’t deserve this” Ignis dramatically whispered to him, and after a little laugh Gladio got a bit closer.  
“Listen, it’s hilarious and everything, but stop saying that” he murmured to Ignis with a bright smile and warm eyes. He paused and reached to hold both of his friend’s arms before continuing. “You do. You deserve this and more. And I don’t care if you’re a good or bad strategist or adviser, you’re my _friend_ , and I care about you. You’re a precious part of my life, sleep can’t compare to your wellbeing. Staying up late is absolutely nothing if that means you’re safe. Okay?” Gladio raised the eyebrows at him at the question, expecting an answer but Ignis only gave him that brokenhearted and almost surprised look. The Shield caressed his arms and did not break eye contact. “No matter the circumstances or what I’m doing, you need help, you call me. I’ll be there. Okay?” when he waited for an answer and received none, he continued. “You’re a wonderful person with the biggest and kindest heart that I know, you’re funny, you’re empathetic and understanding, and you’re incredibly selfless. You do deserve this, and far much more, if by ‘this’ you mean proper care, a bed, and a friend.”

There was a long pause yet again. Gladio did not let go of Ignis’ arms during the even longer pause. After he did, Ignis’ eyes teared up even more. The adviser closed them and stared away, swallowed and waited a bit more before nodding, at first slow and hesitant, and then a little more confident. Gladio whispered a soft ‘Okay’ and they fell in silence once more, until Ignis looked up at him. He raised a hand and pointed at Gladio, and opened the mouth to say something but finger and jaw just trembled for a couple times before he got to say anything.  
“ _You_ are the opposite to Cultro, you know” Ignis told him and lowered the finger. “You’re kind. You’ve always been so kind to me, and you know what _really_ means caring about someone” Ignis moved a hand up to dramatically clean his teary eyes once more. “You’ve always been so good to me…” after he cleaned his eyes and dropped the hand, he sniffled and made eye contact with Gladio again. “So good to me…”

Once said that, Ignis started moving. Gladio thought he was readjusting himself to sit differently or to finally lie down, but the adviser moved closer to him, on his knees, and rested his hands on Gladio’s strong shoulders. Ignis gently and slowly started dropping himself on the Shield, and wrapped his arms around Gladio’s neck. He leaned closer, eyes fixed on the Shield’s mouth before closing them. Gladio stared at him eye widened and taken off guard.  
And, as soon as his crush since-he-was-sixteen leaned close to kiss him, Gladio put a hand up so that Ignis kissed his palm instead.  
The adviser opened the eyes when he did not recognize the texture of lips and pulled apart, staring down at Gladio’s hand. The Shield was smiling warmly with a little hint of sadness, and put the hand down. Ignis stared at it still for long seconds, then back up at Gladio, with a look on his face that almost passed as terror. Ignis unwrapped his arms from Gladio’s neck and his hands returned to the Shield’s shoulders, and he stared at Gladio in silence and fear. 

“…you don’t want to kiss me” Ignis murmured, took his hands away with shyness, and stared away. “You don’t- Astrals, I know, I should have-…I didn’t ask you for permission, I-I’m…this is exactly what you saved me from and…” he seemed very troubled and a little anxious. “I-I guess- I had understood- that perhaps you could have developed romantic feelings for me, and I thought- and I assumed a second ago that maybe…and I thought perhaps…” Ignis passed a hand through his already messed hair, sighing. “…you don’t want to kiss me.”  
“No, I do” Gladio told him, moving a hand up to hold Ignis’ arm again. The adviser stared at the grip and tried making eye contact, but broke it immediately. The Shield smiled, and felt his face burning. “I’ve…always guessed you had realized by this point, I mean…you have a sharp eye” Ignis move the eyes up and tilted the head as if saying ‘well, I guess’, not catching it was a joke besides a statement. “So if you’re admitting you already knew, I guess it’s stupid to keep it in” Gladio sighed as if in defeat and stared away, blushing harder. “I…do want to kiss you. I like you, that way.”

“But then why didn’t you let me?” Ignis asked him. “I- no, I know. It’s because I didn’t ask permission, isn’t it?”  
“It’s not that” Gladio smiled and shook the head. “To get a kiss from Ignis Scientia? Gods, you _always_ have my permission” Ignis gave him a confused look. Gladio smiled warmly at him. “But…listen, you handle your emotions very poorly in this state” Gladio explained and, while expecting a complaint, Ignis only sighed and his chin quivered as if accepting it. “You say and do a lot of things you don’t mean. You amplify your reactions. You’re grateful for the treatment that I’m giving you, but you amplify it to the point you want to thank me with a kiss” Gladio stopped for a moment to see if Ignis was following. “But you don’t mean to. Your drunken persona is _forcing_ you to do this” he paused yet again. Ignis was looking at him with almost naïve eyes, and Gladio lowered the voice to a murmur. “I want that kiss. But if I accept it, I am, in some way, taking advantage of you. Wasn’t this why Cultro got you in this state, so that he could do this?” Gladio gave him a tiny smile. “I ain’t doing that.”

Ignis did but stare at him with the same expression than before. Gladio tried to keep eye contact with him, and waited for anything that Ignis had to say. The adviser’s lower lip quivered and his eyes watered again, and Gladio feared he had touched another string.  
“…I-I almost kissed you without your consent” Ignis whispered, “and you’re worrying about _mine_ ” after that, the adviser let out a choked tiny sob and started rubbing at his eyes again. “My gods, Gladio…you’re husband material.”

The young Shield opened the eyes wide and raised the eyebrows almost midway to his forehead. Well, this was new. Gladio could not help but to furiously blush and laugh, staring away and shaking the head. Drunken Ignis was either a sad case or a hilarious one. Gladio tried to see the compliment behind that; if Ignis amplified the things he was thinking and feeling while drunk, then Gladio could assume that what he had just said could mean ‘I could or not have a little crush on you too’. The idea made him feel a thousand of flowers blooming inside his stomach, lighting up his spirit, but he tried to not keep expectations up. He wished, though. Wished that drunken Ignis could have exaggerated, but was not lying. He really wanted his feelings to be reciprocate…but it was not the moment to talk that. 

“Astrals above…” Ignis whimpered quietly. Gladio looked back up at him and found the adviser pressing his palms to his eyes. “I’m hating myself so much right now, because…” he paused to let go of his face and breathe. “I’ll remember. I’ll remember _everything_ that I’ve done and said tonight, and _I can't stop me”_ Gladio grinned and shook the head, laughing once more. Ignis did not find the fun in that and only stared at him like this was the worst moment of his life. “When this fades, I’ll remember I- oh my Six, I called you ‘my knight in shining armor’, that’s so pathetic…” Ignis whimpered again and, finally, after what had felt like an eternity that was enjoyable to endure, the man dropped backwards until his head met the pillow, but rolled onto his back to hide his face in it. Gladio heard him whimpering again, like a puppy. “And then I tried to kiss you, and then I called you Husband Material, and _I’ll remember _, the gods damn me, why can’t I- why do-“ Ignis stopped talking to dramatically sob into his pillow like a kid in tantrum. Gladio continued laughing lowly. “This was the poorest confession in the history of this and any other universe. I cannot look at you to the eyes, Gladiolus. I won’t. You can’t make me.”__

__“Hey, I’m not forcing you” Gladio said with a little laugh and stood up from the bed. When he felt the movement, Ignis gasped and pulled himself up, looking over his shoulder, and then hurried himself up on his knees on the bed when he saw Gladio was standing up to leave. Ignis reached for him and grabbed him by an arm with both hands. Gladio gave him a puzzled look. “Anything else you need, Ig?”  
“Why are you leaving me?” Ignis asked him at the edge of tears again. “Do you find me disgusting?”  
“Ignis, come on” Gladio laughed, turned around and rested a knee on the bed. “I find you to be adorable and stupidly handsome” the Shield smiled. “I’m just leaving because you need to sleep.”  
“Sle-” Ignis interrupted himself by gasping and again putting a hand to his mouth before letting go. “Sleep! Sleeping is _cruxial_ ” Gladio laughed and gave a low ‘yes, it is’. “And I’m _keeping you from sleep_. Oh no. Oh, gods, no. I am horrible. I am a terrible- what are you still doing here, Gladio? You should go to bed, I’ve kept you awake for so long, it must be like midnight” Ignis sounded so sincerely panicked that Gladio sat down on the bed again and held his arms, not helping a smile out of Ignis’ terrible measure of time. Ignis grabbed his arms as well and looked at him like this was a life-or-death issue. “Gladio, go to sleep. What are you waiting for?”  
“For you to do it first.” 

Ignis stared at him for a couple seconds. His next reaction made Gladio laugh again; Ignis let go of him and basically threw himself back down, and shut the eyes in a very miserable attempt of acting like he was asleep. The Shield waited there, grinning and staring at Ignis, just for curiosity to see what the adviser would do next. He saw Ignis opening an eye and looking his way, then shutting it again when he found Gladio staring. The Shield laughed a little more.  
“…I’m asleep now” Ignis murmured, and it did not sound like he was playing at all. Ignis was _serious_ , and it only made Gladio laugh more. “Go. You have work tomorrow.”  
“Promise you won’t try to sneak out of my house in the middle of the night?” Gladio asked him warmly. Ignis opened the eye again and looked at him for a moment, and then he nodded. The Shield smiled. “Good. Don’t worry about sleeping until late. I’ll leave instructions with Jared so he prepares breakfast for you, alright?” 

Ignis seemed to want to argue that, but Gladio raised an eyebrow at him. Apparently turning a little kid when drunk, Ignis shut the mouth again and only nodded, giving him naïve eyes.  
“Alright. Now try to get some sleep, okay?” Gladio told him as softly as before. Ignis, once more, nodded. “We can talk about knights in shining armor and husband material tomorrow. I’d like that, and I think so will you.”  
Ignis seemed to have gotten the joke, but, instead of laughing, he just tried to kick Gladio weakly, and proceeded to bury the face in the pillow. The Shield smiled and laughed lowly. He stood up from the bed and got closer to Ignis. He leaned down and caressed the adviser’s hair. And, gathering all the courage he could manage to find within himself, he leaned down even more, hesitated and pulled away for a moment, but then got closer again to press a little kiss to Ignis’ head. Tiny. But caring, and loving. And sincere.  
“I’m sorry I took so long to answer the phone” he whispered to the adviser. “And I’m sorry that asshole tried to do something as wrong to you. You’re safe now. I won’t let anything like that happen again.” 

__Ignis did not answer. His body untensed while and after Gladio spoke to him. The Shield continued caressing his hair in an attempt of somehow helping him to fall asleep. Ignis rolled onto his side and looked up at him without taking the head off the pillow. His eyes looked big and exhausted and still pretty much drugged, but they were sincere and innocent. They kept eye contact for a long while, before the adviser offered a little and tired smile. Gladio replied with one of his own and continued caressing his hair.  
“…thank you, Gladio” Ignis murmured to him and his smile widened a little. “You’re…always so good to me…”_ _

__It was very, drastically quick how Ignis drifted into sleep. As drugged, drunken and with his normal lack of sleep hours, it did not surprise Gladio. One moment Ignis was looking at him, the next he was blinking heavily, his eyelids started fluttering, and in less than four minutes the guy had already fallen asleep. The Shield did not stop caressing his hair all the while, running his fingers through the brown locks and enjoying of the sensation of his fingertips against that scalp. He waited until he was sure Ignis was asleep; eyes softly closed, breath calm and heavy, and confirmed it when he took his hand away and the man did not react. Gladio smiled a last time at him, and bent down to give him another kiss to the head. It felt a little wrong, since he was not his boyfriend or anything, but after such an unexpected way of confessing, he could not help himself. Gladio was just so happy to have him there, absolutely safe, and happy. All that he wanted was for Ignis to stay that way forever._ _

__Gladio picked Ignis’ legs to get the sheets from under them, laid him again and covered him. The adviser, in his sleep, grabbed the edge of the blanket and pulled it closer, making himself comfortable, letting out a little sigh. Gladio smiled at the sight.  
He could have gone straight to bed, but he still took a few more moments for other things that he considered important. He secretly stole Ignis’ wristwatch; he took his phone and switched off all the alarms, just to end up turning the entire device off, so nothing and no one would wake him up. He made sure there were no clocks in the room that could have a set alarm or just a ticking sound (Ignis was a light sleeper in his normal state, and Gladio would not risk having him wake up too soon due to his over-developed senses). He made sure to go to the bathroom and cleaned Ignis’ glasses, leaving them on the bedside table for him to find in the morning. The Shield still had to travel to the kitchen to look for some medicine for the next day migraine and consequences, and brought it to Ignis’ room along two glasses of water, placing them nearby the spectacles. _ _

__He gave a last glance at Ignis, and found him still asleep in the same position. Ignis had never been one to move too much in his sleep, and his drunken persona did not seem to disagree with that. Gladio smiled, got closer and caressed his hair a little more, and his smile widened when Ignis offered no reaction. Dead asleep, just as Gladio wanted him. He could not help but smile even more and lower the gaze when he remembered about the silly but pretty things Ignis had said about him. It had been small and dumb comments, but Gladio liked to believe that there was more in the subtext of the things Ignis called him. He would ask him in the morning, or whenever they could conversate again._ _

__Gladio left to his own room, fighting the urge to get under the sheets at Ignis’ side. He sat down at the bed with a heavily sleepy sigh and looked at the hour. Almost four in the morning. He considered moving away his morning run, and that would leave him with…three hours of sleep.  
Eh. Could be much worse. _ _

__He lied down and thought he would fall asleep immediately. Gladio was exhausted and wrecked like hell, but he still took long to fall asleep as lost in his thoughts as he was, and the more he imagined the conversation he hoped he could have with Ignis in some hours and the more he thought about Ignis calling him ‘his knight’ and ‘husband material’ and how he offered no complaints to talking about it in the morning, the more he grew hopes that his feelings were reciprocate, and the less Gladio wanted to sleep._ _

__Suddenly, sleepless, exhausted and wrecked, morning could not come too soon._ _


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some of you requested or expressed desire to see a chapter 2 where they can have the so wanted next day conversation. So here it is!
> 
> I'm sorry it took so long. ^^;
> 
> I hope you'll enjoy it. I'm not sure if this is what you people wanted to read, but it's what happened.

“I am controlling myself and the necessity to snap out at you like, as a father and as your tutor as a responsible Shield, I should be doing, because I know you and I trust you will have an explanation that’s believable and reasonable enough so I have no motifs to scream at you for _falling asleep during our meeting with the **King**.”_

“As a matter of fact, I do” Gladio said and raised the chin as if to show himself completely sure of his innocence. He paused and saw his father deepened the frown a bit, as if silently asking him to shoot at once. Clarus crossed the arms during the wait, and Gladio nervously bit the inside of his cheek. He sighed subtly through the nose and lowered the head a little.   
“Well?” Clarus raised an eyebrow. “I’m waiting.”  
“…I…” Gladio lowered the head an inch more and looked away. “I didn’t get enough sleep.”  
“So you thought you could recover some of last night’s sleep by…” Clarus sighed “…dropping your head to a side and _snore_ midways through the king’s speech.”  
“I didn’t _think_ it was a good idea” Gladio tried to defend himself and tried to find a way to explain what had happened last night.

It sounded bizarre and he had no idea how to word it without it sounding like an excuse. ‘Ignis, the genius that unveils enemy plans and tactics with just one glance? Yes, he spent the night at a bar where one of the very same Kingslaives themselves adulterated his drink to sexually assault him, so I went to pick him up and took him to the house before that happened, but a drunk and slightly drugged Ignis is kind of troubles so I spent the night chasing him around so he wouldn’t escape, trying to pull him out of the car, trying to not be kicked on the face, carrying his dead weight everywhere, helping him when he threw up and talking him out of like fifty different dramas before I really could go to bed’.

Clarus would not believe it. He could almost hear Clarus’ eyes rolling and his mouth growling in exasperation, thinking it was a lie. How was Gladio supposed to say that without it sounding as bizarre as it really was? It was a rare situation, if he had not lived through it he would not have believed it, so what were the chances Clarus would?

“So?” Clarus insisted after the silence had lingered. He was starting to lose his patience, obvious in the way he frowned. “Gladiolus, I demand a good explanation. Do you know how terrible and inappropriate it was!?”  
“I know” Gladio said trying not to interrupt him, head still slightly down. He could be taller than his dad, but Clarus had a way of making others _want_ to respect him, Gladiolus included. He stayed quiet still trying to not sound like an idiot. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to fall asleep during the meeting. I’m exhausted and didn’t get enough sleep last night.”  
“And the reason would be…” Clarus started.

Gladio sighed; he mentally thanked that his dad was being so patient.   
“A friend was in need” Gladio explained, trying to sound as firm as possible, “and I helped him. But the situation led me to get poor hours of sleep” as he spoke, he saw Clarus’ shoulders untense a little, and he took it as a good sign. Gladio thought it would be better to explain more to justify himself. “He was being…he looked for me last night because…someone was trying to assault him. As in sexually” after that, he saw Clarus’ frown soften until almost disappearing, and his body untensed noticeably this time. “He had luck enough to be able to phone me at night, and all I did was attend to him. It was not in my intentions to not get enough sleep. I was conscious of today’s meeting. But I could not ignore someone in need, even less if it’s a close friend of mine.”

There was a pause afterwards. Gladio, tired and trying not to get heavy eyelids, only stood there in silence, aware that his story sounded a bit unusual, but definitely not crazy. Clarus still had the arms crossed and chin raised, firm look on his face, but he was not burning in anger anymore.   
“Gladiolus” the older Shield called, firm but low, “are you telling me the truth?”  
Gladio knew that it was not distrust from his father. Clarus was only doing a good job and was trying to make sure. The younger Amicitia had been raised not to fear his father in case he was caught lying, but to be embarrassed of himself if he did. It was an honor matter; an Amicitia doesn’t lie.  
“Yes” Gladio said lowly. 

Clarus still stood there in silence, just watching him with that characteristic frown. Gladio was resigned to get a reprimand anyway, so he was quiet while in front of his father as the pause grew.   
“Go home.”  
“Dad-”  
“You need to rest.”

Taken a bit off-guard, Gladio looked up at him again and blinked in surprise, unsure of how to reply. Clarus was still giving him the same look of always, always hard to read, but he did not look any upset.   
“…I…still have the prince’s training at five” Gladio replied.  
“I’ll make sure he has a proper replacement” Clarus told him and uncrossed the arms. “Now go home, son.”  
The sudden switch from Shield to Father still took Gladio a bit off guard, but he smiled. He lowered the head and nodded. He gave a low ‘Thanks’ that he later on corrected with a louder and firmer one, and Clarus squeezed his shoulder.

Gladio had only turned on his heels and had started to take a few steps when he was stopped.  
“Excuse my interruption, Gladiolus.”  
The young man stopped and turned again, only to find the king himself standing there, having come through the door nearby. Clarus was already mid-bow.  
“King Regis” Gladio froze for a moment and looked at his superior almost with terror. He returned on his steps and offered a deep bow. “I apologize, again, for my horrible and inappropriate behave-”  
“Let it go, Gladiolus” the king said with the gesture of a hand. Gladio came up from the bow, but found it hard to make eye contact with Regis. His embarrassment for the event back there in the little reunion room mortified him, yet the king did not seem any out of ordinary. “You will excuse that I interrupt you right as you were heading to a well-deserved rest, but…” Regis looked at Clarus, who only glanced back, and the king looked again at the younger Amicitia. “I’m afraid I’m a bad person and happened to eavesdrop on this. Your friend that was harassed, wouldn’t it have happened to have been one Ignis Scientia?”

When the king said that, Clarus opened the mouth slightly and blinked as if in recognition, staring at Regis. Clearly, it had not crossed his head. Gladio did not blame him; for Ignis to be tricked and put in a hard situation, it sounded quite unbelievable. Ignis was a strong and incredibly skilled (not to say _frightening_ when upset) man. Gladio tensed a little, unsure of whether he was in position to expose him or not; that was more of an Ignis issue, not something for him to say. He looked around as if scared of anyone else eavesdropping that could spread the rumor, but the king tilted the head slightly as if saying ‘Eyes here, nobody’s listening but the three of us’.

Gladio still hesitated for a moment and sighed before talking.  
“They took advantage of his trust” Gladio said as if excusing his friend. “It was not on him.”  
“I know that” Regis said with a nod. “Ignis is a very smart young man. Which is exactly why I am particularly concerned” the king looked at Clarus as if either asking him permission or asking if he understood. Whichever the case, Clarus seemed to understand and gave him a nod. Regis looked at Gladio again. “Gladiolus, you sacrificed your sleep hours to aid your dear friend, and yet you’ve attended work for hours without complaint. Of course it’s not surprising that you inevitably fell asleep even if only one second” the mention of it made the younger Shield’s cheeks turns lightly pink and he looked away, still deathly embarrassed for the situation. But Regis was right; it was not like he could help it. “I don’t mean to take you from your deserved rest, but would you mind telling me more of this situation?” Gladio could not offer a reply before Regis added “The fact that somebody betrayed his trust means they once had it. And Ignis trusts so very few people outside the Citadel, I’m afraid it may be someone within it.”

Gladio blinked, uncomfortable.   
“You can tell us, Gladiolus” the king gently urged him with a look that Gladio knew; he was giving him the chance to choose, and there would be no consequences to denying it, but it was welcoming to listen as well. The young Shield took a moment to reflect.  
“If it’s someone within the Citadel” Clarus started, “it wouldn’t only be helpful to know. It could also be necessary.” 

Gladio thought about it. He had promised to himself and to Ignis to have one hell of a conversation with Cultro, the Glaive that tried to take advantage of Ignis, to make him learn what the damn meaning of ‘No’ was. And he would have it. But his duty as Shield required of him to protect the lives not only of his sworn prince, but also the entire royal family if possible. It was not like Cultro would try that with the king or prince, but if a man showed no hesitation in betraying a friend, he wouldn’t hesitate on betraying anyone else. Not to say that not only did he drugged a man against his own will, it also happened that this man was the very same prince’s own adviser and one of the royal strategists. Not only was this a crime, it was a crime against someone among royalty with direct connection to the throne family. Gladiolus didn’t only have the chance to tell the king, he had the _duty_ of it. 

He took in a small breath and let it out softly through the nose.  
“I apologize for talking this way about one of your Kingsglaives themselves, your Majesty” Gladio started, adding a small bow of respect. 

At the mention of the person being a Glaive, both Clarus and Regis looked at him with slightly widened eyes and their body language changed to full attention.   
Gladio had a more detailed conversation with the king and his shield before he was allowed to go back home for the rest he deserved. 

\--

When he arrived home, the first thing that he noticed was that Lord Clarus’ car was shiny clean. 

Gladio had not taken it due to his lack of sleep, and had preferred using public transport to get to the Citadel that morning. It was not dirty the previous night, but there was a difference between regular and shiny clear. He did not even need to get a hint; the young Shield could not help a smile and the roll of his eyes.   
Ignis had always been terrible handling guilt. 

The Shield-to-be smiled while heading to the door of his house, and felt his cheeks burning red. He had spent the few hours he had of sleep and the day fantasizing about the conversation that he wanted to have with Ignis next time they saw each other. Hearing a drunk Ignis calling him ‘his knight’ and to have almost been kissed by him, it was almost too pretty for Gladio to understand at all. He had had a crush on Ignis since he was sixteen, and even though Ignis was not fully conscious of what he said, Gladio had wanted to believe that it had not been all lies or drama. That was why he had been fantasizing about that next day conversation. Approaching his house only reminded him more of the events of the previous night and made his heart flutter inside his chest.

Excited and decided to get some sleep before going to Ignis’ apartment, or wherever he had gone, Gladio opened the door to his house.  
Only to find Ignis standing at the kitchen door. 

The young Shield was startled fully awake and he looked at the young adviser as if he was a ghost; Ignis, on his part, looked at him as terrified as if he was in presence of a daemon.   
“Ignis?”  
“Gladio” Ignis said almost at the same time, still giving the Shield that petrified look. Gladio worried, for a moment, that Ignis had yet not fully recovered from whatever drug he was forced the previous night. Before he could ask anything Ignis rushed back into the kitchen. Gladio blinked in surprise and took a step to follow, but Ignis reappeared almost immediately, mittens gone and taking the apron he was wearing off. “I-I thought-…I wasn’t expecting you for a few hours more…”

“Ignis” Gladio called after a small pause while the younger male left the apron behind and approached him, head slightly down. “Have you…spent the whole day here?”  
“I went to my apartment for a change of clothes” Ignis explained, standing before his friend, and lowering the head even more. Gladio blinked and thought maybe it was just his half-asleep state, but he thought he saw his friend’s cheeks turn to red. That would explain why he was keeping the head so low when he usually kept the chin sassily raised. “Your…pajamas are…laundry’s almost done…”  
“You did laundry?” Gladio asked him and could not help an amused grin; he knew this was sweet, but coming from Ignis it was absolutely hilarious, considering the context. 

“Not everything” Ignis said and looked up at him with a grumpy look, but it still held embarrassment. “Jared did the normal laundry, I only requested the machine to wash the pajamas you lent me and the bedsheets.”  
“You washed pajamas _and_ bedsheets?” Gladio asked him and his amused grin grew. He let out a chuckle. “And you also washed my dad’s car. And you’re preparing lunch, I see? Waiting for me to arrive to welcome me with some food, maybe?”  
“Can you please not laugh?” Ignis said and smacked him on the shoulder. The gesture made Gladio give a step back, and despite his friend’s anger he could not help a laugh, that did but deepen Ignis’ frown and the red of his face. “Why is it so funny!?”  
“Because” Gladio said among laughter and looked at his friend, who only crossed the arms and looked another way, frowning and blushing as much as before, “Ignis, I know you. You’re feeling all guilty from last night so now you’re cleaning ‘the mess’ you made.”

“And…so what?” Ignis asked a bit lower, still refusing to look in his friend’s direction. Gladio’s smile widened again and he controlled his urge to laugh.   
“Iggy, I told you last night and I’ve told you all our lives” Gladio said and took the step back closer to Ignis. The younger man fidgeted a bit with his glasses and seemed to tense a little with the proximity; “you don’t need to apologize for this sort of things. You’re never a bother in my house. You’re a guest, more than that. Listen, it’s nice that you try to show gratitude, but you don’t need to become a guilty mess and overwork. Cleaning, laundry, cooking, it’s nice and everything, and I dearly appreciate it, but a little ‘Thanks’ was more than enough.”

There was a pause afterwards. Gladio was staring at Ignis ever since he had started to talk with the necessity to get even closer and touch him; caress his face with his fingertips, grab his arm…maybe grab his hand, or maybe even cup his face…something. His feelings for Ignis did but go mad with the conversation of the previous night; Ignis had shown to be reciprocate to him, and Gladio could not help but adore seeing him and wanting to have him close. But, then again, there was the risk that Ignis would reject him and blame it all on the alcohol and the drugs. 

Gladio spent the pause just staring at him and thinking that he forgot to continue the conversation, until it was Ignis who spoke.  
“I…spent too long in that bar, and I drank too much” Ignis explained as his frown transformed into an apologetic and worried look, and his body untensed. “I must have stunk awfully, hence I must have spread the smell everywhere. What would the respectable Lord Clarus think if he gets on his car and smells the alcohol and sweat?” Ignis sighed tremblingly and put a hand to his forehead, closing the eyes, as if trying to stay cool. “And the bed of the guests’ room and your spare pajamas…” Ignis paused. “…and I threw up in your bathroom…”

Knowing his friend, Gladio would not be surprised to know Ignis could have cleaned the bathroom even if Jared had already done it before him. The thought was both sad and a bit hilarious. Gladio smiled and reached closer to give his friend a casual touch on the arm.   
“Hey” the Shield called and his friend looked up at him, still with that apologetic look on his face. “I told you it’s fine. It’s not like you did any of that on purpose.”  
Ignis looked away while his jaw moved in a sign that he wanted to fight that back, but had no arguments.   
“You were in a really bad state, Ignis” Gladio told him a bit more lowly and let go of his arm, but his eyes did not move off his friend for a single second. “The last you had to worry about was keeping things clean.”

Now that he saw him, Gladio analyzed him a little searching for any signs that said his friend was still not okay. Ignis did look pale compared to normal, but much, much less than the previous night. He looked as if he was either about to catch or coming out of a flu. Gladio knew it was a good sign, but he still hated to see him not fully healthy.

“It’s just…” Ignis said, and paused. He released his tension in a sigh before continuing. “You took so many troubles to help me, even more than were required. I…did not want to be an ungrateful whiny jerk; I couldn’t leave without fixing what I-”  
“You broke nothing, Ignis” Gladio said with a small laugh. Ignis looked at him, but he still showed some troubles to maintain eye contact for too long. “It’s fine. Thank you for all the things you did, but now I feel bad” Gladio’s eyebrows shrugged, the smile still present. “You did all these chores, and it was your free day. You were supposed to enjoy it as you pleased.”  
“And you were supposed to have gotten a good night sleep.”

Gladio looked at his friend with little surprise, eyebrows moving slightly up. Ignis was subtly biting down on his lower lip, as if though he could not have helped the comment and was nervous on the answer. The shield got a little distracted staring at the place where Ignis’ lower lip disappeared inwards, the teeth that were biting on it hidden behind the upper lip. He blinked and took himself out of it and sighed softly.  
“If that’s what you worry about, it’s okay, Iggy” Gladio offered a playful smile. “I got a nice sleep during today’s meeting with the king.”  
“You slept wher-!?”  
“Just kidding!” Gladio interrupted with a laugh, getting closer and patting Ignis on the back. “Just kidding, Iggy, calm down.”

Gladio _would_ tell him about that little incident, but only when Ignis could get over his guilt. The last he needed was for Ignis to be triggered into another drama. A non-drunken one, thank the Astrals. After that little pat on the back, Gladio headed for the living room and Ignis shyly followed behind, but he stood nearby while Gladio sat on a sofa. He gestured for Ignis to sit, but the adviser sighed and looked away, arms crossed in a way that looked more like he was hugging himself. Body language was a bit sad, so Gladio decided to reassure him again.  
“Really, it’s fine, Ignis” Gladio told him, still sat and expecting for Ignis to do as him.  
“You don’t understand, Gladio” Ignis shook the head lightly. The shield looked at him in silence, waiting for the younger man to continue. It took Ignis some moments, and he insisted on breaking eye contact each time he managed to hold it. Ignis sighed yet again before he said anything. “You…treated me so good last night. It was far so much more than enough with picking me up from the bar, considering the situation; you saved me from…bad experiences.”

Gladio didn’t say anything in response. Ignis took some moments as if finally seeing the weight of the situation.  
“You could have dropped me at my apartment, honestly that’s what I thought would happen, but instead…” Ignis let go of his arms, but his hands returned up as if needing of that self-hug of sorts, and he looked away. His voice softened when he continued. “…instead…you brought me here, took care of me for _hours_ , prepared me tea, gave me a bed and clean pajamas…” his cheeks turned red as he spoke those last two words, so red it was much more than just clear. Gladio felt a chocobo ranch in his stomach at the sight, and his palms tickled. He wondered if there was something about the fact that he dressed Ignis in Gladio’s own clothing that meant something for Ignis that Gladio could not catch. Ignis lowered the head and tried to continue. “And when I woke up today, it was natural and not due to an alarm; I was asleep with warm and clean blankets, I had two glasses of water for the awful thirst, and a pill for the headache; my spectacles were shiny clean at a side, and my clothes neatly folded nearby.”

Gladio felt his own face become colored and he lowered slightly the head, not helping a shy but wide smile. Ignis noticed everything, even the little things. Gladio had done it for his comfort, but that Ignis acknowledged his efforts was satisfying and sort of touching.   
“I think that what I mean to say” Ignis said after a moment, an arm down and the opposite hand gripping it, shyly. He was looking up at Gladio with that shy, slightly apologetic, but happy look, cheeks back to normal, “is that you didn’t only help me; you absolutely spoiled me” and there went what little control Ignis had regained over his face, turning red again. “You even sat with me to talk me out of my dramas. Despite how little hours of sleep you had left, you spent them awake to make sure I was okay, not only physically speaking. And that was…” Ignis put the head down and cleared his throat, but his face burnt brighter. “…I mean…that was…you were…” he paused for a moment. “…you were so good to me, Gladio. So, too good to me.”

“Hey” Gladio called lowly after a pause. Ignis looked up at him, composure back and able to make eye contact. The Shield offered him a cocky smile. “That’s what knights in shining armors are for, right?”  
“Oh my _gods_ , no, please, do not remind me” Ignis said in an exhale at the same time he looked away and reached for the other sofa, letting himself fall on it and immediately hugging a cushion where he also buried the face. Gladio could not help but burst out in laughter; he had always adored whenever Ignis built up a solemn and serious air to give a funny comeback that broke it, but this situation was different. They were talking matters of crushes and romances, but Gladio thought it would be funny to break Ignis’ serious air with that, just to break the ice and to start some way. He adored the way Ignis threw himself on the sofa, the familiarity with which he moved around the Amicitia house. And he absolutely adored the way Ignis tightly hugged the cushion where he kept the face buried so deep he wondered if the adviser was trying to asphyxiate himself. 

“So you do remember!” Gladio said as half-a-cheer and half-a-concern, smiling and blushing much harder.   
“I remember _everything…_ ” was Ignis’ muffled reply that came out as almost a whimper. It sounded so pathetically embarrassed Gladio could not help but laugh lowly again and feel shyness building up inside himself. Ignis hugged the pillow tighter. “Every single thing I did and said and saw and _everything_. I always do. And I hate me for it. Why can’t I be the kind of drunk that forgets?”  
“Are you sure you’re okay now, Igs?” Gladio asked. “You sound like you’re in another one of your drunk dramas.”

By any response, Ignis sat up just to throw the cushion at Gladio. The shield laughed and caught it before it would hit him, and Ignis only looked at him a few moments before he let himself fall to the other side to use the other cushion instead. Gladio laughed again and adored watching the younger man as stupidly embarrassed. It was unusual and very rare. Just like a drunk Ignis. And just like drunk Ignis, an extremely embarrassed Ignis was a cute and funny sight.  
“I had hoped that maybe the drug would help me forget” Ignis whimpered again into the other cushion. “But I think all it did was help me remember twice the clear.”  
Gladio laughed yet again, but it soon faded. He continued staring at Ignis with a smile that, despite moved, was painted with a hint of sadness a moment later.

The shield let the pause linger for a moment before he decided to change the subject, because, no matter how much he wanted to already talk about his feelings with Ignis, he knew there were priorities.   
“How are you feeling, by the way?” Gladio asked him softly, blinking tiredly and containing a yawn. “You okay now? As in, really?”  
There was another silence. Ignis took some moments before he sat back up and adjusted his glasses on his face. He sighed and looked at Gladio, if only a bit shyly, and nodded, only to stop and shake the head, and stopping to tilt it to the side, hesitating.   
“I’m…mostly fine” Ignis said quietly. “I’ve been dealing with stomachache mostly, and some unusual very slight anxiety, but it’s getting better with each hour…”  
Gladio nodded slowly, smile long gone. That could explain only a small part of his frantic come and go doing chores; anxiety made a very ugly companion to guilt. Ignis was already bad at handling the latter without the first. He contained a sigh in his chest.  
“I’m happy to know that” the shield said softly. “That should have never happened to you. I’m sorry for what that asshole did to you.”

Ignis gave him a sad smile, the sort that looks more like pressing the lips into a line rather than curving them, started nodding, and lowered the head. More than angered, Ignis looked sad. Gladio stared at him some moments and let out a breath through the nose.   
Toying with that, it had been more than wrong in so many ways. Besides the moral side, it could have put Ignis’ health to greater risk; each body reacts different to everything, so the same quantities that Cultro put in his drink could have affected him in worse ways. It was but luck that Ignis’ handled an unknown drug so well; stomachache and anxiety were nothing compared to other consequences. That Glaive had not thought not only about the moral weight of it, he had been selfish enough and desperate enough for a one night stand that he preferred drugging Ignis without knowing if his body could have been literally poisoned with whatever he used. 

The thoughts took Gladio off-guard; the previous night and along the day he had been so exhausted and sleepy he had not thought about that side of the risks. He felt himself come a bit more awake for a moment with the realization that Ignis could have ended up in a hospital or worse. Gladio blinked and was taken form his thoughts when the adviser sighed.  
“You didn’t see him today, did you?” Ignis asked him carefully, voice still low. Gladio shook the head.  
“But I did talk about it with the king” Gladio said and Ignis turned to look at him again, with surprised but not too startled eyes. “He said he’d do something personally. I guess it’s last day of work for ass face.”  
Ignis slowly started nodding and looked away.   
“He did not personally harm the throne family” Ignis said in almost a murmur, “but a disloyal and dishonest man should have no place among the honoured Kingsglaives.”  
“Just what the king himself said” Gladio replied with a small smile and leaned back on the sofa. Ignis offered him a smile, but looked away once more, distracted in his own thoughts.

They spent another small pause like that, in silence, while both thought about it. Gladio closed the eyes and subtly caressed them; gods, was he exhausted. But he did not want to leave just like that; he wanted this conversation with Ignis, make sure he was alright.   
“I’m sorry, really” Gladio broke the silence. “You’re the most kindhearted person I know. Nobody should betray your trust and treat you like that.”  
Ignis smiled at him, still a bit sadly, and shrugged a shoulder.  
“That’s alright” Ignis blinked at widened his smile. “I’m a bit upset, but I try to focus on the better things. Sure, I was treated bad and almost got sexually assaulted by one person, but…” he sighed and looked away, still smiling. “It doesn’t compare. I had…someone else that took care of me in the greatest and kindest way. I have someone so good in my life, the bad one doesn’t even cross my head.”

Gladio blinked, taken a bit off-guard, and felt his face color itself. He gave a smile at the adviser, who smiled back at him before staring down again.  
“I only wish I had answered the damn phone earlier…”  
“Gladio, no” Ignis shook the head and smiled at him. “You did _fantastic_. If it took you less or more time, it doesn’t matter; you gave up your own comfort and your own necessary sleep hours not only to help me, but also to treat me like…” Ignis’ cheeks turned to red and he looked away with a smile that was somewhere between amused and shy. “I won’t call you ‘my knight’ ever again, but…basically, like that” Ignis chuckled but denied eye contact. Gladio could not help the side smile and the warm gaze. “I’m not surprised, because you’ve always been very attentive with me. But, still, I acknowledge you did so much for me last night.”  
“That’s why I’m Husband Material, right?” Gladio asked him with a more playful smile.

The comment only earned him a smack with a cushion that Ignis grabbed and swung in his direction, but the Shield merely laughed. The way Ignis’ face lost all color to turn entirely red absolutely made up for the way the adviser furiously smacked him three times.  
“Stop reminding me of the things I said and did!” Ignis complained to him, and the way he was completely out of his usual composed self made Gladio laugh even more. The adviser stopped smacking him to sit back on the sofa and hug the cushion, looking away, frowning. “It’s not funny. It’s sad. It was the most messed up, vulgar, and poorest way to have made a confession. It’s not a matter of hilarity.”  
“But was it?”  
“Excuse me?” 

Ignis looked at Gladio again, frowning not in anger but confusion. The Shield was looking at him with a gaze that reminded Ignis of a little child asking if pixies existed. The adviser blinked, not understanding at all.   
“Was it?” Gladio repeated, smiling. “A confession, I mean…?”  
“Oh…” Ignis blinked and opened the eyes a little bit more widely than normal, mouth parted. He didn’t reply and only looked at Gladio with the same surprised expression. Gladio did not look away, with that hopeful but understanding look in his eyes. He looked so…sincerely hopeful. It was a pretty contrast to his usual joking self, to see him serious but happy. 

Ignis’ expression softened and his lips curved in a small smile. His eyes went down after a while and he took in a breath through the nose that he let out the same way. Gladio still offered that adorably hopeful gaze to him, waiting patiently.  
“I…never thought that this would be the way I’d say it” the adviser said quietly, eyes on Gladio only for a moment before he lowered them again, looking as sad as his voice came out when he continued. “But…yes. It was a confession.”  
Said that, Ignis looked up at him again, and gifted him a sad smile.  
“I like you, Gladio” he said quiet but firm. “I have grown…romantic affection for you. I’m sorry.”

It took Gladio a moment while he felt; felt the tickles in his stomach, felt his heart breaking only to be born again, bigger and brighter and lighter, felt his lungs fill with air that he softly left out. A confession. Drunk and drugged, and amplified, but it had not been a lie. The Shield wanted nothing more than to throw himself at the younger man, take him in arms and pick him up, and run far, far away to some hideout where he could hug Ignis in his arms, kiss his face, and never let go. But, before that, and as he grinned with warmth, he lowered the head and shook it in short but rapid motions.  
“Why would you be sorry?” Gladio asked him, and while he expected no answer, Ignis talked either way.   
“Because…the way I confessed, it was so vulgar and…” the adviser sighed, still with that upset look on his face. “…I really care about you, Gladio. And I wanted, if I ever built courage enough, to tell you in a special occasion, in a special way. Not…after…the events of last night. Not drunk. Not like this.”

All that Gladio did after staring at Ignis for some moments was to laugh shortly, and he stood up from the sofa. The laugh took Ignis off guard and he looked up at Gladio as if not sure of how to react to the unexpected answer, but he said nothing when he found the older man standing in front of him and getting closer. The adviser stayed quiet and lowered the head again out of shyness when Gladio sat beside him, taking his time. Ignis avoided eye contact as much he could.  
Until he could not.  
The young Shield’s left hand slowly sneaked its way towards Ignis’ right side and found his face. Ignis had seen the hand, it was not a surprise when it landed on his skin, but the contact made him part the lips and contain the need to gasp. Gladio’s hand was softly pressed to his cheek and softly made him turn in the Shield’s direction.

They made eye contact; Ignis looked rather blank, if only a bit insecure. Gladio, however, was still smiling and looking at him as if though Ignis had suddenly grown a halo and wings; not surprise, as if though he had always known his nature, but rather…in admiration. And joy.   
“I don’t care how, Iggy” Gladio murmured to him. “I don’t care when. You’ve let me know the feeling is mutual, and that’s all that matters to me.”  
Ignis felt his face burn a little again, and his instinct was to look down.   
“You treat me so good, Gladio” Ignis murmured back. “All the time, always. You treat me like I’m your prince, even better. And I answered your feelings after almost being attacked, after throwing up in your bathroom, and so drunk I couldn’t even stand on my feet alone” Ignis continued. “And I did it by almost kissing you in such a…careless, vulgar way” he hissed and looked away. Gladio let go of his face. “You’re always giving me so much love, and that’s how I answer to you. I’m not sure it’s fair for you; to give all of the good in you, and receive the opposite in return.”

The adviser kept the eyes down for a moment, and Gladio let him be. Still, with a hint of sadness, the Shield was smiling, and after a moment he let out a little snort as if a chuckle.  
“Come now, Iggy” Gladio called lowly. “Now I’m sure you’re still drunk; you’re throwing another drama at me.”  
Ignis looked to a side rather than down and a wide if embarrassed smile escaped him. He rolled the eyes lightly and shoved his friend’s arm as a ‘Stop it’ gesture, but he was still smiling. Not even Ignis himself could resist laughing at his own dramas, that was how ridiculous they got. Gladio laughed lowly.

“Iggy, you’ve got to be blind or you just hate yourself” Gladio said. “Look around; you spent your free day cleaning and cooking. You were going to receive me with food, some of my favorite, from what I can smell” the Shield paused there, and Ignis, still smiling despite the hint of sadness, tilted the head to a side as if saying ‘well, yes, it is’. “And all our lives, you’ve always given so much of yourself to me, to everyone around you. And besides, that’s not the point; love is not about what I give you and what you give me in return. It’s just about…” Gladio chuckled, shaking the head and shrugging. He looked somewhere else as if thinking well about it, and then he looked at the adviser once more. “…it’s just about what I give you. No expectations.”

Ignis looked up at him after that, smile gone, but no more sadness anymore either. He gave Gladio a gaze that lingered. He looked down and his smile returned.  
“Aren’t you the most romantic, Gladio?” Ignis asked lowly and looked at him. They were close enough and had been leaning towards each other as they talked. They shared a glance that spoke for them instead of their words, and the adviser, a little hesitatingly, moved a hand up. It seemed to have aimed for Gladio’s face but, timid, only some fingertips landed on the Shield’s face. Gladio closed the eyes and leaned his face slightly into the touch, as if wanting more. Ignis smiled and looked at the other’s face intensely, admiring it, adoring it. He got closer until the tip of their noses rubbed together, and they stayed quiet like that; Gladio leaning into Ignis’ touch and the adviser staring at the older man in adoration. After a moment, Ignis whispered carefully, “We’ve done mutual confessions. What proceeds now?” 

Gladio opened the eyes and searched for the younger man’s. Their gazes locked together and they dedicated some moments just to look at each other despite the proximity of their faces. During the silence, the Shield brought a hand up and used it to gently push the rest of Ignis’ hand to his face so the palm could rest flat on the older man’s cheek. Ignis felt the ticklish and itchy sensation of the beard underneath, but adored it. Gladio kept his hand on top of Ignis’, and used the other to grab Ignis’ free hand. He brought it up and gently pressed a kiss to the knuckles, closing the eyes as if to put all his focus into the kiss and the affection in it. Ignis felt his heart flutter inside and he smiled more widely and with much more warmth, watching as Gladio put his hand down again and looked at him once more.   
“Whatever we want” Gladio replied in a voice as quiet. “I’m yours already, so that I cannot offer. But perhaps we could make it…a little more…official?”

After his words and a small pause in which Ignis only looked at Gladio, the adviser’s little smile widened a bit and he moved both hands to the other’s shoulders, slipping past them until it was his forearms resting on Gladio’s shoulders, as if ready to hug him in any moment.   
“…definitely the most romantic” Ignis whispered, eyes bright and one of his fingers finding a lock of the Shield’s hair, starting to softly toy with it. The curve of Ignis’ mouth grew slightly, and Gladio mirrored it. His own hands moved up until one found Ignis’ side, caressing it up and down in affectionate movements, and the other found the adviser’s face. Gladio had always had rough hands, but Ignis had never adored a touch like that one. Almost by reflex out of how unexpectedly amazing it felt, he closed the eyes and leaned slightly into the hand like Gladio had done previously with his, letting out a little sigh. “…yes, please. A little more official would be…wonderful…”

Once said that both leaned in closer until their lips were ghosting on one another. Millimeters of skin touched and their eyelids fell half shut. They still stared at each other either to the eyes or to the mouth, both breathing the same warm air that was doing but heat up. Both closed the eyes at the same time almost as if they had practiced it, and with the same synchronicity they leaned closer and broke the inch of distance between their lips. 

It was careful, as if testing unexplored waters; not insecure of whether it was okay to do it or not, rather unsure of how cold or hot, of how profound, of how calm or wild it would be in this new territory. Shy lips rubbed on each other before pressing together, shyly, like the first kiss of a young scholar. There was a pause even though both mouths were still resting one on the other, as if both needed a moment to memorize that first touch. After that, they came to press again, catching each other, tasting, slow and unexpectedly sensual without requiring of tongues or vulgarity. Their lips caught each other and let go, slowly, in long tastes and caresses. Their hands moved a bit as they kissed; while their mouths got occupied, Ignis took his hands back so they rested on Gladio’s shoulders again, a thumb caressing the Shield’s neck almost distractedly; the hand Gladio was resting on his side moved to his back, and the one on his face moved back to bury into the younger man’s hair, caressing his scalp and light brown locks.

Moments later, their lips stopped and let go, but stayed close, caressing each other, like a couple that has to say goodbye but cannot. Both men breathed the same air, shyly, a little tremblingly, and then they smiled against each other’s mouth. A few moments later, Gladio moved away only for a moment while he readjusted his angle; when he broke the distance again, it was so his mouth could land on the side of Ignis’ nose, his own accidentally messing with the younger man’s glasses. The adviser kept the eyes softly closed and the hands on the older man’s chest. Gladio broke that kiss, bringing a hand up to remove Ignis’ glasses without having to pull apart too much, and kept them in a hand while he moved to kiss his closed left eye, and moved again, slowly, to kiss the space between his eyebrows.

Once after a last kiss on his forehead, Gladio pulled apart and waited for Ignis to open the eyes. When the adviser did and looked up at him, the older man put the glasses back where they belonged. Perhaps it was only his imagination, but Gladio could swear that Ignis looked less pale and much calmer than when he first walked through the door and found him. Gladio could not help a wide and warm smile while staring at the adviser, and almost by reflex cupped his face again and pulled him close to rest his forehead on Ignis’. The younger one smiled happily, eyes softly closed, and hands reaching for Gladio’s face, tenderly holding it. Gladio, eyes closed as well, smiled softly as well and stayed there, foreheads together, and no words required for beautiful things to be shared between them. 

After a moment, Gladio contained a sigh in his chest and let it out through the nose.   
“The only thing I’m scared about…” the Shield started, “…is I’m so…sleepy, I fear I may be dreaming it” Ignis’ smile grew smaller but warmer. “Or even worse; that I’ll forget this beautiful first kiss with the man that I…adore…”  
The last word sounded as if though hiding so much more that it sent shivers down Ignis’ spine. It was not required a genius to hear the things that were not said. Ignis felt the same way, but if Gladio wanted to wait to say it aloud, then so be it.   
“I can assure you it’s not a dream” Ignis whispered to him. “And if it is, it’s mine. I’m feeling so much happiness and affection, I’m sure I wouldn’t able to create these feelings if I was but part of a dream” after that, Ignis pulled apart only so he could take one of Gladio’s hands so he could, like the Shield moments earlier, kiss his knuckles. “And if you forget, that’s quite alright. I can always remind you how it happened.”

Gladio smiled exhaustedly but purely content, adoring of these touches, the small kisses, Ignis so close to him, and giving his heart out to him. He had always wanted to know what Ignis’ love felt like, but this was more than the heaven he always fantasized about. The mere proximity made him feel blessed, and every little touch made him feel like Ignis was the only thing that existed and had the hands of an angel. Ignis’ fingertips caressed his face a little more, before he grabbed both the shield’s hands again.  
“But for now” Ignis called him back awake, “you have to rest. You need and deserve it, my dear.”  
“Oh, _gods”_ Gladio sighed and leaned closer to Ignis, head to the adviser’s shoulder, almost as if dropping dead weight on him. “Say it again.”  
Ignis had not meant to call him by that new nickname, but the atmosphere had it escaping from his mouth before he could think about it. He feared for a nanosecond that Gladio would think he was rushing, but from the Shield’s reaction he could tell that was not the case.   
“I had wanted to call you that for so long now, Gladio, my dear” Ignis said happily, and felt Gladio wrap one of his arms around his shoulders. “I’m afraid you may get tired of hearing it.”

“You’ll get tired of saying it first, with how many times I’ll ask you to say it” Gladio replied and, without warning, and in only one motion, he slipped his other arm under Ignis’ legs and stood up from the sofa, carrying with the adviser in arms bridal style. Ignis only let out a tiny muted yelp of surprise, hugging Gladio back by reflex. “I ain’t letting you go now, Ignis Scientia. You’ve arrowed my heart, you can’t shoo me away to bed unless you’re coming with me.”  
“There was no need to carry me, Gladiolus, with your half-asleep state the probabilities that you’ll drop both of us are-!”  
“Hush, you stupid thing” Gladio said, shutting his eyes tightly to open them again, trying to stay fully conscious as he started heading his way to the stairs. “I did this last night too. And you were on absolute dead weight on me. Like five times. Drunk. I can do it fine right now, too.”  
“Can you please stop reminding me of- oof! Gladiolus! Can you be a little more gentle!?”

Among silly and playful arguments, Gladio carried with Ignis upstairs and towards his room. Once there, he dropped Ignis on the bed without warning him, earning a little yelp and a kick on the chest that worked to push him but not to hurt him, and made him laugh. Gladio crawled onto his bed and dropped himself next to Ignis, and wrapped his arms around him, pulling him close into a tight hug that made the adviser groan in discomfort and the weird angle of a shoulder and his neck, as pressed to Gladio as he was. After a few moments of squirming in Gladio’s arms trying to break free and failing, Ignis asked him to let go among laughter.   
“Let go?” Gladio asked in a voice that sounded more asleep than awake. He already had the eyes closed. “Uh uh. I’ve been crushing on you since I was sixteen, you kiss me today, and you expect me to let go? You’re stupid.”  
“Now, are you the most charming of men?”  
“I am. I’m your knight in shining armor, you said.”

Ignis felt his face burn brightly and Gladio chuckled. Had he been more awake, he would have probably laughed. Ignis pouted a little and let out an exasperated sigh that made the Shield chuckle again. He kept an arm around Ignis’ waist, and the other between them.   
“…’night, ‘ggy…” Gladio muttered very lowly, so very quickly drifting into sleep. With the poor few hours of sleep he had had the previous night, the wrecking day he had had the day before, the rushed and messed up events of drunk Ignis, and the hours he had managed to attend at the Citadel, it was no surprise to Ignis that Gladio fell asleep almost as soon as he touched his bed. The adviser smiled; never before had he felt so happy and honored of seeing someone sleep. This was not only Gladiolus sleeping, this was Gladiolus after all the comfort he sacrificed for him, the man with the hugest heart on Eos, the man that always treated him so good, getting the rest he gave up for him. 

Gladio quickly fell asleep, with Ignis hugged close. The adviser watched him some moments, smiling and remembering about the previous night, the treatment Gladio offered to him, the already gratifying and incredibly loving gesture of saving him from such a situation, and the sweet treatment afterwards. Ignis snuggled closer to him and moved close to press a little kiss to Gladio’s chin.  
“Rest well, Gladio. You deserve it, my hero” Ignis whispered to him, fully conscious that Gladio could not hear him, but not helping his words. He pressed another kiss to the Shield’s face, smiling the entire time. “My dear.”

One of Ignis’ hands moved up and he touched Gladio’s face. The Shield did not react much to the contact, and his breath only continued to get heavier and much calmer with every second. Ignis still moved closer one last time and pressed a long-lasting and affectionate kiss to the corner of Gladio’s mouth. When he broke the kiss, his mouth still stayed close to ghost on Gladio’s skin.

He could not help a smile that was both amused and warm when he murmured one last name.

“My knight in shining armor.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed!
> 
> Please consider leaving a comment to let me know what you think. I spent quite a while with this and feel kind of insecure about it, so I'm not sure if it's alright? (｡•́︿•̀｡)
> 
> I kind of want to write about Gladio punching Cultro in the face, though, but... these two boys talked too much and made the chapter far too long, couldn't add more. Still, I headcanon Gladio did punch him in the face sometime in the future. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯


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